Improvement of Metal-Doped β-TCP Scaffolds for Active Bone Substitutes via Ultra-Short Laser Structuring.

Various efforts have been made to develop antibacterial biomaterials capable of also sustaining bone remodulation to be used as bone substitutes and reduce patient infection rates and related costs. In this work, beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) was chosen due to its known biocompatibility and use as a bone substitute. Metal dopants were incorporated into the crystal structure of the β-TCP, and disks were produced from this material.

Bioderived Pickering Emulsion Based on Chitosan/Trialkyl Phosphine Oxides Applied to Selective Recovery of Rare Earth Elements.

A novel biobased pickering emulsion (PE) material was prepared by the encapsulation of Cyanex 923 (Cy923) into chitosan (CS) to selectively recover rare earth elements (REEs) from the aqueous phase. The preparation of PE was optimized through sequentially applying a 2 full factorial design, followed by a 3 Box-Behnken design varying the Cy923 content, CS concentration, and pH of CS. The material was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical microscopy, rheological, compositional, and stability measurements.

Simultaneous direct measurement of the electrocaloric and dielectric dynamics of ferroelectrics with microsecond temporal resolution.

A contactless technique for direct time-resolved measurements of the full dynamics of the adiabatic temperature change in electrocaloric materials is introduced. The infrared radiation emitted by the electrocaloric sample is sensitively detected with μs time resolution and mK temperature resolution. We present time-resolved measurements of the electrocaloric effect up to kHz frequencies of the driving electric field and down to small field strengths.

A General Synthesis of Nanostructured Conductive Metal-Organic Frameworks from Insulating MOF Precursors for Supercapacitors and Chemiresistive Sensors.

Two-dimensional conjugated metal-organic frameworks (2D c-MOFs) are emerging as a unique subclass of layer-stacked crystalline coordination polymers that simultaneously possess porous and conductive properties, and have broad application potential in energy and electronic devices. However, to make the best use of the intrinsic electronic properties and structural features of 2D c-MOFs, the controlled synthesis of hierarchically nanostructured 2D c-MOFs with high crystallinity and customized morphologies is essential, which remains a great challenge. Herein, we present a template strategy to synthesize a library of 2D c-MOFs with controlled morphologies and dimensions via insulating MOFs-to-c-MOFs transformations.

Nanodiamond Decorated PEO Oxide Coatings on NiTi Alloy.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain a leading cause of death in the European population, primarily attributed to atherosclerosis and subsequent complications. Although statin drugs effectively prevent atherosclerosis, they fail to reduce plaque size and vascular stenosis. Bare metal stents (BMS) have shown promise in acute coronary disease treatment but are associated with restenosis in the stent.

Just Keep Rolling?-An Encompassing Review towards Accelerated Vaccine Product Life Cycles.

In light of the recent pandemic, several COVID-19 vaccines were developed, tested and approved in a very short time, a process that otherwise takes many years. Above all, these efforts have also unmistakably revealed the capacity limits and potential for improvement in vaccine production. This review aims to emphasize recent approaches for the targeted rapid adaptation and production of vaccines from an interdisciplinary, multifaceted perspective.

Advances in Blood-Air Barrier Models and the Use of Nanoparticles in COVID-19 Research.

Respiratory infections caused by coronaviruses (CoVs) have become a major public health concern in the past two decades as revealed by the emergence of SARS-CoV in 2002, MERS-CoV in 2012, and SARS-CoV-2 in 2019. The most severe clinical phenotypes commonly arise from exacerbation of immune response following the infection of alveolar epithelial cells localized at the pulmonary blood-air barrier. Preclinical rodent models do not adequately represent the essential genetic properties of the barrier, thus necessitating the use of humanized transgenic models.

Fast and Efficient Evaluation of the Mass Composition of Shredded Electrodes from Lithium-Ion Batteries Using 2D Imaging.

With the increasing number of electrical devices, especially electric vehicles, the need for efficient recycling processes of electric components is on the rise. Mechanical recycling of lithium-ion batteries includes the comminution of the electrodes and sorting the particle mixtures to achieve the highest possible purities of the individual material components (e.g.

Quantifying the Displacement of Data Matrix Code Modules: A Comparative Study of Different Approximation Approaches for Predictive Maintenance of Drop-on-Demand Printing Systems.

Drop-on-demand printing using colloidal or pigmented inks is prone to the clogging of printing nozzles, which can lead to positional deviations and inconsistently printed patterns (e.g., data matrix codes, DMCs).

Hierarchical conductive metal-organic framework films enabling efficient interfacial mass transfer.

Heterogeneous reactions associated with porous solid films are ubiquitous and play an important role in both nature and industrial processes. However, due to the no-slip boundary condition in pressure-driven flows, the interfacial mass transfer between the porous solid surface and the environment is largely limited to slow molecular diffusion, which severely hinders the enhancement of heterogeneous reaction kinetics. Herein, we report a hierarchical-structure-accelerated interfacial dynamic strategy to improve interfacial gas transfer on hierarchical conductive metal-organic framework (c-MOF) films.

A review of synthetic and augmented training data for machine learning in ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation.

Ultrasonic Testing (UT) has seen increasing application of machine learning (ML) in recent years, promoting higher-level automation and decision-making in flaw detection and classification. Building a generalized training dataset to apply ML in non-destructive evaluation (NDE), and thus UT, is exceptionally difficult since data on pristine and representative flawed specimens are needed. Yet, in most UT test cases flawed specimen data is inherently rare making data coverage the leading problem when applying ML.

Silicone-Based Lubricant-Infused Slippery Coating Covalently Bound to Aluminum Substrates for Underwater Applications.

Wetting of solid surfaces is crucial for biological and industrial processes but is also associated with several harmful phenomena such as biofouling and corrosion that limit the effectiveness of various technologies in aquatic environments. Despite extensive research, these challenges remain critical today. Recently, we have developed a facile UV-grafting technique to covalently attach silicone-based coatings to solid substrates.

A Thiophene Backbone Enables Two-Dimensional Poly(arylene vinylene)s with High Charge Carrier Mobility.

Linear conjugated polymers have attracted significant attention in organic electronics in recent decades. However, despite intrachain π-delocalization, interchain hopping is their transport bottleneck. In contrast, two-dimensional (2D) conjugated polymers, as represented by 2D π-conjugated covalent organic frameworks (2D c-COFs), can provide multiple conjugated strands to enhance the delocalization of charge carriers in space.

Signal-Decay Based Approach for Visualization of Buried Defects in 3-D Printed Ceramic Components Imaged with Help of Optical Coherence Tomography.

We propose the use of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) as a tool for the quality control of 3-D-printed ceramics. Test samples with premeditated defects, namely single- and two-component samples of zirconia, titania, and titanium suboxides, were printed by stereolithography-based DLP (Digital Light Processing) processes. The OCT tomograms obtained on the green samples showed the capability of the method to visualize variations in the layered structure of the samples as well as the presence of cracks and inclusions at depths up to 130 µm, as validated by SEM images.

Hybrid gold-silica nanoparticles for plasmonic applications: A comparison study of synthesis methods for increasing gold coverage.

The current work focuses on the synthesis of hybrid nanoparticles (NPs) made of a silica core (Si NPs) coated with discrete gold nanoparticles (Au NPs), which exhibit localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) properties. This plasmonic effect is directly related to the nanoparticles size and arrangement. In this paper, we explore a wide range of size for the silica cores (80, 150, 400, and 600 nm) and for the gold NPs (8, 10, and 30 nm).

Characterizing Intraindividual Podocyte Morphology In Vitro with Different Innovative Microscopic and Spectroscopic Techniques.

Podocytes are critical components of the glomerular filtration barrier, sitting on the outside of the glomerular basement membrane. Primary and secondary foot processes are characteristic for podocytes, but cell processes that develop in culture were not studied much in the past. Moreover, protocols for diverse visualization methods mostly can only be used for one technique, due to differences in fixation, drying and handling.

Sensing of chemical oxygen demand (COD) by amperometric detection-dependence of current signal on concentration and type of organic species.

The standard method to determine chemical oxygen demand (COD) with KCrO uses harmful chemicals, has a long analysis time, and cannot be used for on-site online monitoring. It is therefore necessary to find a fast, cheap, and harmless alternative. The amperometric determination of COD on boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes is a promising approach.

Tracing attosecond electron emission from a nanometric metal tip.

Solids exposed to intense electric fields release electrons through tunnelling. This fundamental quantum process lies at the heart of various applications, ranging from high brightness electron sources in d.c.

Assessment of vestibulo-ocular reflex and its adaptation during stop-and-go car rides in motion sickness susceptible passengers.

Motion sickness is a physiological condition that negatively impacts a person's comfort and will be an emerging condition in autonomous vehicles without proper countermeasures. The vestibular system plays a key role in the origin of motion sickness. Understanding the susceptibility and (mal) adaptive mechanisms of the highly integrated vestibular system is a prerequisite for the development of countermeasures.

3D bioprinting of mineralizing cyanobacteria as novel approach for the fabrication of living building materials.

Living building materials (LBM) are gaining interest in the field of sustainable alternative construction materials to reduce the significant impact of the construction industry on global CO emissions. This study investigated the process of three-dimensional bioprinting to create LBM incorporating the cyanobacterium sp. strain PCC 7002, which is capable of producing calcium carbonate (CaCO) as a biocement.

Neodymium Recovery from the Aqueous Phase Using a Residual Material from Saccharified Banana-Rachis/Polyethylene-Glycol.

Neodymium (Nd) is a key rare earth element (REE) needed for the future of incoming technologies including road transport and power generation. Hereby, a sustainable adsorbent material for recovering Nd from the aqueous phase using a residue from the saccharification process is presented. Banana rachis (BR) was treated with cellulases and polyethylene glycol (PEG) to produce fermentable sugars prior to applying the final residue (BR-PEG) as an adsorbent material.

Investigation of the Damage Phenomenology with Dependence on the Macroporosity and Microporosity of Porous Freeze Foams.

Freeze Foams are cellular, ceramic structures with hierarchical pore structures that are manufactured using the direct foaming process. By tailoring their morphology and strength, these foam structures are able to cover a wide range of application. Earlier works identified that pore-forming influencing factors (water and air content, suspension temperature, as well as pressure reduction rate) dictate the constitution on a macroscopic and microscopic scale.

Micromechanical BEoL robustness evaluation methods enabling loading condition customization and acoustic emission damage monitoring.

For micromechanical robustness evaluation methods, it is advantageous if the mechanical loading conditions applied can be controlled as precisely as possible. For microchips, this is required to determine the robustness under specific conditions, e.g.

Monolayer-Assisted Surface-Initiated Schiff-Base-Mediated Aldol Polycondensation for the Synthesis of Crystalline sp Carbon-Conjugated Covalent Organic Framework Thin Films.

sp carbon-conjugated covalent organic frameworks (spc-COFs) with superb in-plane π-conjugations, high chemical stability, and robust framework structure are expected to be ideal films/membranes for a wide range of applications including energy-related devices and optoelectronics. However, so far, spc-COFs have been mainly limited to microcrystalline powders, and this consequently hampered their performances in devices. Herein, we report a simple and robust methodology to fabricate large-area, free-standing, and crystalline spc-COF films (TFPT-TMT and TB-TMT) on various solid substrates (e.